will not hear from me for some months.


LETTER 5. TO J.S. HENSLOW.
Valparaiso, July 24th 1834.

A box has just arrived in which were two of your most kind and affectionate
letters. You do not know how happy they have made me. One is dated
December 15th, 1833, the other January 15th of the same year! By what
fatality it did not arrive sooner I cannot conjecture; I regret it much,
for it contains the information I most wanted, about manner of packing,
etc., etc.: roots with specimens of plants, etc., etc. This I suppose was
written after the reception of my first cargo of specimens. Not having
heard from you until March of this year I really began to think that my
collections were so poor, that you were puzzled what to say; the case is
now quite on the opposite tack; for you are guilty of exciting all my vain
feelings to a most comfortable pitch; if hard work will atone for these
thoughts, I vow it shall not be spared. It is rather late, but I will
allude to some remarks in the January letter; you advise me to send home
duplicates of my notes; I have been aware of the advantage of doing so; but
then at sea to this day, I am invariably sick, excepting on the finest
days, at which times with pelagic animals around me, I could never bring
myself to the task--on shore the most prudent person could hardly expect
such a sacrifice of time. My notes are becoming bulky. I have about 600
small quarto pages full; about half of this is Geology--the other imperfect
descriptions of animals; with the latter I make it a rule only to describe
those parts or facts, which cannot be seen in specimens in spirits. I keep
my private Journal distinct from the above. (N.B. this letter is a most
untidy one, but my mind is untidy with joy; it is your fault, so you must
take the consequences.) With respect to the land Planariae, unquestionably